Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 153.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,613 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth about $1,125,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $1,858,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $834,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $3,042,000. Finally, Elios Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth about $999,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $216.14 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.44. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $261.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.